FC Barcelona invited three Palestinians to attend next month's soccer match on 7 October between Barcelona and Real Madrid instead of Gilad Shalit.

FC Barcelona stated that they didn't invite to Gilad Shalit who was freed in October 2011 after more than five years as a prisoner, is expected to attend next month's soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Barcelona said it also accepted a Palestinian Embassy request that three of its delegates - Palestinian Authority Ambassador Musa Amer Odeh, Palestinian Football Union President Jibril Rajoub and soccer player and activist Mahmoud Sarsak - be invited to the game, reported CNN.

Though the club statement said the three would attend, the Palestinian-run blog, The Electronic Intifada, cited two reports saying that Sarsak would reject the invitation.

Sarsak was freed from an Israeli prison in June following a three-month hunger strike.

There has been no statement from Sarsak regarding the Barcelona invitation, even on his Twitter feed.

Legal Notice: Copyright, trade marks and other intellectual property rights in this website can not be reproduced without the prior permission.